We’ve heard and discussed plenty about the “I’m not a feminist, but” syndrome, so my interest was piqued when I read this post of Mac’s.
And then the woman next to me said, “I wonder what the next trend will be. I heard that environmentalism might be making a comeback.”
You know, I scoffed at the idea. At the time, people were bitching about the price of gas but no one ever does anything about it. No one ever really organizes car pools or gives up their car to take public transit if the option is available or starts riding their bicycle to the grocery store. Over the years we’ve been trained – wholesale as a people – to just accept whatever options we’re allowed. And in this case, we bitch about the price of gas and then go fill up our SUVs. Most of us are just not able to recognize the opportunity to do something different.
Plus, there’s the stigma attached to saying you’re an environmentalist. Even though I do many good things for the environment, I wouldn’t ever call myself an environmentalist – I don’t think I do enough to be considered one, but I also immediately think of tree huggers like Darryl Hannah getting arrested for trying to protect the fate of an L.A. mini-farm. And let’s face it, the average American thinks someone who would stage a protest in a tree is pretty out there and weird. And I don’t think I’m alone in equating the term ‘environmentalist’ with some crazy lady in a tree.
You can see why I thought the idea that America would embrace environmentalist was kind of crazy.
Compared with some friends and acquaintances who really take their environment seriously, I’m not even close. That doesn’t mean I try — between the garden and the recycling, and the attempts to reuse materials in interesting ways, I’m doing something. A couple of years ago I was a far more environmentally-conscious person, yet that was an era in which I had more means and more time to devote to those thoughts and practices. These days I don’t bother attempting to weed the garden or turn the compost. Mama’s too damned tired.
So no, I don’t believe I come even close to qualifications. Then I wonder, what are the qualifications, if any? Are they as elusive and sometimes arbitrary as fitting into the feminist mold?
Would you call yourself an environmentalist? Do you experience environmentalist guilt? Thoughts?